Master in Urban Ministry (MUM)

With the world rapidly urbanizing, cities are our future. This means we need to train and equip Christians for effective and innovative ministry in complex urban societies. This degree program offered through Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary and RADIUS Initiatives is designed to equip those interested in innovative urban ministries and urban church planting and leadership. The MUM degree is 34 credits with prerequisite academic requirements. Through a blend of theoretical and experiential learning, students will be equipped to engage our growing cities in ministry.

*Applicants who do not hold a Bachelor of Theology degree or its equivalent may be required to take an additional 26 credit hours in the areas of Bible, theology, church history, and biblical interpretation. Students can complete these subjects online with MBTS either before, after, or concurrently with the online Intercultural Studies courses (total of 60 credit hours).

Courses & Modules

1. City to City Incubator(16 credits)

The City to City Incubator is Gospel City Network’s (GCN) key two-year program to serve, train, and develop church planters and church leaders who promote missions-minded churches and church planting in Metro KL. Each learning module addresses the specific needs of urban planters, including skills in thinking theologically about ministry, and growth in the various areas of urban ministry. The incubator is designed for church planters to go through the program during the critical phase of launching their congregations. Although it is designed for church planters, the material great for developing mission-minded church leaders. They get practical help on writing their action plan, the philosophy of ministry, crucial ministry development, and preaching, among other topics. Ideally, this training is accompanied by coaching to encourage the planters to perform to the maximum extent of their giftedness. The Incubator covers 16 modules using curriculum from Redeemer City to City and will include pre-reading, skill development, interaction in a learning cohort. A Certificate of Urban Ministry is awarded on completion of this 2-year program.

Modules

Gospel Theology: Understanding the Gospel

Leading the Church with the Right People

Personal Life of the Leader

Leading the Church Through Others

Culture and Contextualization

Gospel Preaching: Finding and Proclaiming Christ

Evangelistic Networking

Gospel Preaching: Applying Christ to the Heart

Ecclesiology (Understanding the Church)

Leading the Church Through Difficulty

Grace Renewal: Experiencing the Gospel

Corporate Renewal Dynamics

Discipleship-Leadership Development

Leading Your Church to the Next Level

Kingdom-Centered Prayer

Leadership Through the Organization

(For those not able to join the City to City Incubator, courses in line with the student’s ministry purposes can be substituted equaling 16 credits. The Incubator credits can be segmented into four courses, each worth four credits.

Gospel Spirituality for Leadership

Leading in Contextual Mission

Discipleship Formation Through Communicating Grace and Truth

Executing Visionary Leadership)

2. Urban Mission in the Asian Context(3 credits)

Over half of the world’s population lives in cities. As such, cities are a priority in missions. Emphasizing the Asian context, this course seeks to develop an understanding of cities, urban trends, and how students can engage cities with the gospel.

This course examines the biblical narrative to understand God’s purposes for his church. The course can be taken online or at one of the MBTS campuses.

3. Theology of Mission(3 credits)

Depending on the student’s particular ministry calling, the student may choose one of these courses for partial fulfillment of the MUM degree: Pastoral Counseling or Peacebuilding and Conflict Management.

4. Counseling Elective (3 credits)

This class will help the student understand the biblical and theological basis for holistic community transformation in the ministry setting of the student. There is a focus on basic missiological principles in order to develop a mission strategy in their context that is community-based, sustainable, and transformative.

We cannot minister effectively if we don’t know and understand our ministry context. This course is tied with the capstone project, as the student will develop urban research skills for the sake of greater ministry impact.

6. Research in an Urban Context (2 credits)

The capstone project is intended to demonstrate the student’s comprehensive learning in the MUM through one of two options:a)Practicum with written analytical report- The student will volunteer or work at an urban ministry for 6 months based on approval from the student’s academic supervisor. Following this practicum at an urban ministry, the student will produce a written report (25-30 pages) and analysis based on the practicum. Written report should include student’s research and reflection based other classes.b)Research paper- The student will undertake extensive research on a topic relevant to urban ministry based on approval from the student’s academic supervisor. This research should include original research in the student’s ministry context as well as extensive research through other sources. This research paper (35-40 pages) should demonstrate the student’s grasp of complex urban issues, research skills, and application-oriented reflection.